Middlesex judge's nomination held after racist comment

A Superior Court judge from Middlesex County was upbraided today by a key Senate committee considering his tenured appointment to the bench for directing a racial slur at a plaintiff in a child-support case and calling her daughter "a sponge."

Civil Court Judge Fred Kieser Jr. of Metuchen told the Senate Judiciary Committee that in 2005 he instructed a woman seeking payment for her daughter's tuition at Middlesex County College not to treat her ex-husband "as a cash register, that this is not a free lunch."

He also told the woman "no tickee, no laundry," a racial slur mocking Chinese laundy services that require a claim ticket before returning clothes, after she failed to provide proof of her daughter's enrollment, Kieser said. "I also indicated that the petitioner's daughter was a sponge."

The judge initially defended himself by saying he did not see the language as a slur.

"The litigants were African Americans and the racial slur, I think, was a slur against Asians," he said. "Again, there's no excuse for it. All I'm saying is there is a difference, at least in my mind there is."

Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) called the comments "verbal abuse" by Kieser and said his actions should not be rewarded with a reappointment to the bench with tenure. He has already served seven years as a Superior Court judge.

Following Kieser's testimony, the Senate Judiciary Committee decided not to vote on his reappointment, saying they needed more time to consider his record.